Everything you always wanted to know about proofreading but were afraid to ask!

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Monthly Archives: November 2013

I have been fortunate enough to receive some very nice testimonials from my clients. Here are some recent ones!

TESTIMONIALS

Having worked with Julia Gibbs on two projects now, one a collection of short stories and the other a historical novel, I have found her to be professional, dedicated and thorough. An excellent proofreader, Julia is also approachable, easy to work with and very reasonable in her fees. I will be working with her again in the future, and advise you to do the same!

This is the first time I have used Julia’s services, and it certainly won’t be the last. My MS came back polished and ready to go to my editor. I liked the fact that any changes to words/phrases she suggested, were noted at the side. The suggestions certainly helped to make my MS flow better. She also made comments in the return email regarding her opinions on my story, all very helpful advice. So, if you’re looking for a proof reader who is professional, honest and friendly then Julia is the lady for you.

When I asked authors whose work I admire to recommend a proof reader, Julia’s name came up again and again, and now I’ve worked with her to prepare my novel Dory’s Avengers for re-release, I can see why she comes so highly recommended. Not only did she spot mistakes that had been missed by the two proof readers who’d worked on the original release, she went above and beyond, offering invaluable opinions and comments. One particular scene had always bothered me, but as the author I couldn’t see the wood for the trees and work out why it made me uneasy. In a few simple words, Julia explained why she felt it didn’t work, and she’d absolutely hit the nail on the head.

If you’re an author looking for a friendly, reliable and extremely competent proof reader then please don’t hesitate to contact Julia, but I’d advise you to book well in advance. She’s deservedly a very busy lady!

I’ve published six books with major US publishers and am now working on a seventh. I had a rush need to submit a partial manuscript and it needed proofing and copy editing. Julia did an absolutely tremendous job on a tight deadline. I could not be more impressed nor recommend her more highly. A real discovery.

Julia Gibbs is a rare find. She did a superb job proofreading my Rudiger Stories in record time. If you are looking for top-notch proofreading expertise, fast service and a complete professionalism, hire Julia with confidence.

If you have written a book that you are serious about then it needs to be professionally proofread. I’m no stranger to proofreading as I run two successful magazines, so the number of typos and mistakes in punctuation found by Julia Gibbs while proofing my latest novel came as a shock. No matter how many times you and others read through your manuscript, it isn’t ready to publish until it has been proofed by one of the best in the business, Julia Gibbs.

Working with Julia to better my book, Aberrancy, was the best decision I made this year. Her remarkable editing style didn’t change my writing voice, her suggestions were gentle and meaningful, and she was open for discussions and sought clarifications.
Of particular value to me, is the easiness I felt around her. It was as though we knew each other for years though we’d just met.
Julia is an incredible asset to any book, I highly recommend engaging her services to enrich your manuscript.Su Halfwerk, https://twitter.com/SuHalfwerk

Julia’s character and work ethic were very evident when she looked over my manuscript and made some excellent suggestions. I feel her work improved my book but it isn’t just this that makes her stand out. She genuinely cares about you as an author and what you are trying to accomplish. It has been a wonderful experience working with Julia and I would not hesitate in giving my highest recommendation.

As a writer, when you have completed your masterpiece, you know what it is supposed to say, how it is supposed to read. Therefore, your eyes play tricks on you and you read what things should say, not what they actually say.

Julia cleaned all my work up and spotted silly little things that, as a reader, would have changed the experience.

I would not hesitate to recommend her to all authors. She is professional and works within your time frames as much as she possibly can.

After a poor experience with another proofreader, Julia was recommended to me. She then set about correcting all the errors in my debut MS The Decalogue which has since been re-published and is receiving much praise.

I found Julia to be professional, supportive and (dare I say) good value for money. I was so impressed by her efficient and great work that I also asked her to work on my follow up, Tick Tock Time’s Up.

I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Julia to all you current and prospective writers out there.

Working with Julia on my third novel has been a dream. She is more than pleasant to approach, professional, intelligent and more to the point, knows exactly what she’s doing. When she says she’ll get in touch with you, she does. When asked for a quote, she comes back quickly and with the minimum of fuss, itemising her charges and for what. Julia gave me an exact timescale as to when she would be able to take the manuscript and how long she would need on it. She bettered both timescales and I received two copies: one with all the changes and one totally clean copy.

I have no hesitation in recommending Julia’s proofreading services and will most certainly use her again.

I was introduced to Julia by another writer and I have been completely satisfied with the decision to use her to proofread my novel. Julia is as pleasant as spring rain and just as welcome in my circle of friends. A more thorough and affable cohort in the production process cannot be found. She’s a terrific professional; delivering more than I expected, precisely on time.

I am pleased to recommend Julia as a proofreader. She has provided me with an excellent service recently on two of my books, Everything To Lose and The Black Fox. I won’t hesitate to request her help for the next one. Julia’s professionalism and attention to detail have been excellent. Julia worked within my deadlines and worked with my style sheet, including helping me to improve it for future books. I think the most valuable outcome of my work with Julia is that I have learned a lot from her, and I believe my writing has improved.

Thank you so much, once again. You have a lifted the manuscript and polished out all of my issues, and given me a great finished product to work with. I appreciate your attention to detail, so much! I have no questions, I understand your comments and will go with all of your suggestions.

Sheryl Beaumont, http://www.slbeaumont.com/

I highly recommend Julia Gibbs as a proofreader. She was professional and did the job with style. I especially loved that she fixes the errors for you on a separate, clean manuscript and sends you back your original work to see where she made the changes.

In other words, she gives you the choice but does all the hard work with affordable rates.

Julia Gibbs proofread my second historical novel, Occupying Love in June 2015 and I was delighted with the final result. Her professional attitude before, during and after the work was completed made me confident that I had made the right choice.

Not only was the final proof ready for publication but she managed to turn what is normally a very stressful process into a pleasure.

As a former journalist I would definitely recommend Julia’s work to new and experienced authors and writers alike.

Julia carried out a final proof edit of the Prodigal in June 2015. She completed the task in super quick time and picked up even the tiniest of errors. Completely professional and friendly too. Would highly recommend Julia to anyone looking for a professional editing service.

Julia has been supportive, professional, kind, patient and incredibly skilled in her proofreading of my novel. The task of writing a book and hopefully publishing it is such a difficult task, but it was made so much easier with Julia’s aid. Deadlines are met, so be confident in her word! I highly recommend Julia’s services as proofreader! Thank you once more.

Julia is an utter professional and if you want to be too, hire her. I consider her part of my team now and, believe me, being able to trust your proof reader is a weight off the shoulders. I recommend her without hesitation.

I found Julia via a word of mouth recommendation; she’s fast, flexible and fun to work with. She found errors where I was convinced there were none! She’s great value for money too. I have no hesitation in recommending her to all authors looking for a good proof-reader.

I am delighted to recommend Julia in the light of her work on CONCEALMENT, my latest psychological thriller. I came across Julia on Twitter and soon realised that everyone was full of praise for her. However careful you are, you simply cannot proofread your own work and as a newcomer to self-publishing, it was vital for me to have a high-quality and error-free product.

Julia certainly lived up to all the hype. She approached the project in a thoroughly professional manner and homed in on those pesky typos and punctuation errors with ruthless zeal, completing her work well within the timetable we had agreed. I will definitely be using her services again.

I first met Julia purely by chance on Twitter, and I am so glad I did.Julia is a proofreader of extraordinary talent. She tells it as it is and gave wonderful advice to me, a relatively novice writer. Julia’s charges are reasonable and she dislikes the way that many people looking for a proofreader are ripped off, because they don’t know what else is available. She also introduced me to an excellent editor, who like Julia charges fair rates. If you are looking for a proofreader to oversee your work, you need look no further. I also believe that no writer should submit their work for publishing without having their work both professionally edited and proofread. I will definitely be using Julia again in future projects.

Finding Julia to undertake proofreading for my publishing endeavours turned out to be a joyous experience for me. Julia was thorough and helpful and her knowledge and insight proved invaluable. If you want a trusted, reliable and efficient proofreader and all round wonderful person involved in your project, look no further.

I had the chance to work with Julia after having had translated Dangerous Games from French to English. Julia is a highly efficient professional: she’s accurate, precise, always willing to explain basic questions (from punctuation to UK/US English differences) which was of great help for me. She always responds promptly and she also delivered her work even faster than the deadline she gave me. Should I have another text to proofread, no doubt I’ll work with her again!

Julia Gibbs is simply the best. Thoroughly professional, utterly reliable, and deeply invested quite personally in making your manuscript as perfect as it can possibly be. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.

I was pretty confident that there weren’t any, or at least not many mistakes in my novel, having read it so many times during the editing process. Luckily for me, I’d been told I should contact a miracle proofreader called Julia who came very highly recommended by the whole universe it would seem!

I decided she would be far too busy to help, but did as I was told and sent her an email anyway. She was busy, (I think she is always busy and very much in demand!) but she replied later that day, was absolutely lovely, and answered all of the many, many questions on my very long list of doubts and concerns. By the end of her first email, I knew I had found the Mary Poppins of the proofreading world!

Julia did the work quickly and brilliantly and I’m so glad I found her! I cannot recommend her highly enough and I will definitely be asking for her help with the next novel!

A fellow author sent me a great article on proofreading, by Julia Gibbs. As a result I asked Julia to tackle the manuscript of my book. She was so good to work with; thorough, efficient, responsive and made me realise that proofreading is best not done by the author!
I thought I could do it all, with the help of a few eager friends (some authors) creative writing classes and constantly reviewing my manuscript looking for errors. I was wrong, I needed a proof reader. They are skilled technicians and Julia goes the extra mile. I have two novels nearing completion and will be handing them over to Julia before I publish.
My grateful thanks.Geoff Green, https://twitter.com/GeoffGreenWrite

It is my pleasure to recommend Julia as a proofreader, she has provided me with an excellent service recently, I will not hesitate to request her help time and again.
From the first point of contact, through to completion, Julia’s professionalism and attention to detail have been second to none. Julia worked within my deadlines and took into consideration any requirements I had, I would not consider publishing now, without her help.
I would not hesitate to recommend Julia and would endorse this to any prospective clients.Caroline Easton, https://twitter.com/carolinelou70

Professionally proofed work is vital to your success. I have a post-graduate degree in English Literature and a BA Hons in English Language, but my stories are not complete until Julia Gibbs works her magic. Julia runs a word-perfect, prompt service and is a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended.

Thanks, Julia, for your patient help during the proofreading stage of my novel Platinum Ten. Much impressed by how easily you coped with my inability to see properly, which added to my underlying dyslexic problem, certainly shows that you can produce an impressive end result. Will send you a signed copy as soon as I can. Renewed thanks, Pelham McMahon.29.07.2014

I stumbled on Julia quite by accident. I’m a debut author, and the proofing part of the process was always the most daunting. Could I trust someone with my words – work I’ve spent hours crafting – and handle any feedback or constructive criticism? This was the one thing I worried about most and when I approached Julia, I expected the worst.

My worries were for nothing. First of all, Julia has never been condescending or critical. Sure, she’s provided helpful information and feedback and amended words here and there, but it’s her job to do this. Not once did I feel like my work wasn’t good enough, that I was wasting my time. The proofing process, for several pieces of my work, has been painless, friendly and very efficient. Julia is prompt, courteous and, well, very good at her job.

Whenever I receive some work back from Julia, I always enjoying reading it. The subtle changes seem to make all the difference to my words. Working with her is a pleasure and it’s comfortable to know that Julia is around if I need some work proofed or read, as a second pair of eyes is always handy.

The proof? My debut novella, The Customer Is Always… has been selling and reviewing well. My first feature length novel, All or Nothing, is due in a few weeks and in between, I’ve had three separate short stories accepted into several established horror anthologies. A fourth is currently being reviewed. Julia had a hand in all of these and I believe it’s because of her sheening, polishing and insight that my work is starting to get me noticed. Thank you, Julia, for making my proofing process a pleasure rather than a chore.

After being left in the lurch by a couple of proofreaders, I found Julia on Twitter. A few messages later, I was looking over some sample pages. Spin on one week, and I had a completed manuscript. Julia’s input has been invaluable to the success of the project. She very quickly understood what I was trying to achieve; the flow of my writing and her eye for detail has given a highly professional finish to my work. Working with Julia has been both enjoyable and an education, and I would happily recommend her services.

I can highly recommend Julia Gibbs as a proofreader. I have worked with many different people in the publishing industry and Julia stands out for her professionalism and attention to detail.

I initially booked her services eleven months before I finally had my manuscript ready for her, and Julia was very patient and understanding when I decided to rewrite most of my book first. When I eventually got the manuscript to her, Julia completed the proofread very quickly, checking with me on some issues that were inconsistent in the book.

I first came across Julia by chance on Twitter. I’d created a profile and was more than a little baffled by the site. There seemed to be games being played, such as ‘I’ll follow you, if you follow me’, or ‘follow me, and you’ll have 1,000 additional followers’. I was just an aspiring author who wanted to raise the profile of his upcoming book. One of the best things I did was to ‘follow’ Julia. I contacted her about the possibility of reviewing my work. She asked me to send the first six pages of my novel for her to proofread. I liked her work and asked her to formally proofread the rest of the book.

I’m extremely thankful and delighted with the effort Julia has put into sorting out my novel and I can personally vouch for her professionalism.

I made the mistake of self-publishing my last novel without getting it professionally proof-read. I thought I’d weeded out all the typos…until the bad reviews started to roll in. Readers hate finding mistakes – and it makes the author look like an amateur.

I found Julia on Twitter and asked her to proof my new novel. Not only did she do it quickly and thoroughly, she was a joy to work with. Worth every penny. And no more bad reviews mentioning typos!

Like lots of people starting out, I thought I didn’t need a proofreader. I’d read and re-read my book, but by the millionth time I couldn’t see the wood for the trees. That was when I passed it to Julia who read it with a professional, trained eye, finding errors that I wouldn’t have spotted even on the billionth read! Highly recommended.

I have worked as a proofreader for publishers, so when I wrote my first novel Rock’n’Roll Suicide I did my own proofreading. Despite this, I found I had left in many, many mistakes of various kinds, meaning I had to republish four times.

With my latest novel, Doppelganger, I decided to ask Julia Gibbs to help me. Not only did she find hundreds of errors that I had completely missed, but she even spotted factual flaws and names that didn’t match and an element of the plot that didn’t work, things I had not noticed. She kindly went beyond her brief to do these things, in addition to correcting so many typos, missed words, repeated words, inappropriate commas, incorrect words even, that were totally invisible to me, perhaps because I was too close to the work. And all these myriad mistakes were present after I had already carefully checked the manuscript three times.

She did the corrections with ‘Track Changes’, in a manner that allowed me to see exactly what had been changed, thereby preserving the option of not making the change, in the unlikely event that I may not have agreed with some of the corrections.

Julia Gibbs did the work within just 10 days and charged a very reasonable price. I cannot recommend her services highly enough and I will always ask for her help with my future books. Mistakes irritate the reader, the last thing a writer wants, and to have a conscientious, careful, and highly literate proofreader makes all the difference to the success of your work.

I’m a writer from Sweden, a non-native English speaker writing in English. When I wrote my first novel, The Jacket Trick, I started proofreading my manuscript myself. But every time I re-read it I found more mistakes. I knew I needed a pro to look at it. That’s where Julia Gibbs came into the picture.

Julia went over the manuscript and found an additional 1500 or so additional mistakes in the form of missing words, misplaced apostrophes and quotation marks, as well as grammar and punctuation mistakes, all of which I had missed despite numerous re-reads, and having native speaker friends read it. Further, as a special assistance for me, being a non-native, she went outside her area of service and looked for places where the language wasn’t quite what a native speaker would have written.

She uses ‘Track Changes’, which allows the writer to see exactly what has been changed, allowing for the option accept or reject the change, in the event that the writer doesn’t agree with the corrections. In my case, I accepted her proof more or less as it was when I got it.

Julia worked swiftly and the entire novel was done in just 2 or 3 weeks and her price is very reasonable. The text I got back was flawless. I will definitely use her again in the future.

I have five books on Kindle and Paperback. The first four I wrote when I was unwell, I must say, not realising at the time they were a mess. Julia came to my rescue, I cannot thank her enough, her work on my books has increased my sales. I have still got a couple of my books that need to be proofread and I cannot think of anyone better than Julia to do the work for me.

I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I like Julia as an editor. I know you have many editors you guys use. I would really appreciate it if I can work with her whenever possible. She seems to get my sense of sarcastic humor and not everyone does! LOL. Also, she is technically awesome and catches all my blunders, yet she allows my books to maintain my tone. A fact I appreciate more than words can say. I hope you will pass along my sincere gratitude to her.

An English teacher wrote on my school report, ‘If Jonathan spent less time staring at Lucy Sargent and more time working, his written English would improve’.
I meet many of the readers of my articles. I became very fed up with them telling me I had put a comma in the wrong place or my sentences were too long; then I met Julia ‘Proofreader’, now they talk to me about the content and not the grammar. Julia provides a very speedy, friendly, accurate service and is a pleasure to work with.
I would no more send an article for print without using Julia than I would go for a walk without a dog.Jonathan Fulford, https://twitter.com/Vexedfoxy

Julia came highly recommended through the publishing house to which I have ties both personally and professionally. With extensive knowledge and experience, Julia did not disappoint. Not only did she find all those pesky mistakes that I know I make, but never can locate, but she also familiarized herself with my style of writing and has helped me to improve my craft. Her attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile proves her professionalism on every level. She is an asset to the writing community as a whole, and I am happy to have worked with her on several projects, and look forward to working with her for years to come.
–Jeremy Laszlo, Best selling Author of The Blood and Brotherhood Sagahttps://twitter.com/JeremyLaszlo

Having Julia proofread my book was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. As a new author my first book reviews reflected my need for a proofreader. Her attention to detail and expertise in proofreading helped elevate my book from a three star review to a five star review. She is one of those rare people who will go out of their way to help you succeed. She has given me pointers on how to promote and sell my book and has always been available to answer any questions I’ve had. I feel she really wants to see my book succeed. I will never release another book without Julia proofreading it first.

Julia Gibbs proofread my stories. I worked with Julia in Take Off Your Mask, too, and I was so happy with her work, she was my first choice. Thank you for your precious help in the creation of this book, it was a pleasure working with you.

Julia Gibbs has proofed three of my novels to date. I found her service excellent. She was prompt at delivery, highly professional and extremely thorough. I will certainly use her skills again and recommend Julia to all indie authors out there.

It isn’t often you find a professional on your wavelength and Julia Gibbs is just that. Prompt, reliable and friendly. What more could you ask for in a proofreader? She provides the last touch to a piece of work you’ve slaved over; why wouldn’t you want her services to make sure that everything is as it should be? Because no matter how much you sweat over something, there’s always one mistake and Julia catches it before it goes live. Highly recommended.

For me, having Julia as my proofreader was a bit like going to a reassuring doctor. I contacted her with lots of niggles and anxieties about the final edit, then skipped off afterwards – every problem sorted! Wonderful. Julia checked and polished my MS, and even corrected my Spanish!

Proofreading is the lifeblood to a successful publication. Without it, readers are quickly put off.

Melodramatic? Perhaps. But it is surprising how many beautiful stories appear on Kindle by authors who clearly know their subject and can take the reader to heights previously unimagined. Only to bring them down to earth with such a bump when – like a crash-landing or worse – with the absence of a word that was clearly intended, or the misunderstood application of the apostrophe, and so on, the reader is left feeling sore, disappointed, even angry.

I love the English language. I love literature. And I can count on one hand, maximum, the mistakes I found in text books when at school in the 1960s. In short, they rarely had mistakes, if at all.

With the ever-increasing pace of indie-publishing, the ability to publish on line within days of completing the final page of the manuscript, many authors are shooting themselves in the foot. Some can unwittingly destroy their promising writing career before they’ve even started.

In my work I professionally proofread thousands of legal documents. I was known for my eagle eye and friends and colleagues would ask me to proof their drafts and, sure enough, there would be something to amend, even if it is just a typo.

And yet, in my own work, my own writing, I breeze along, and then, returning to my own proofed work an hour or so later – there it sits, right in front of me, a glaring error.

The brain can often catch us out. It has a great inbuilt predictive text ability!

Take a sentence of 10 words. If you have the first, tenth and fifth words in their right position, even though the other words are out of order, the brain will put them ‘in order’. We do not see the error. It is not there. And off it goes. The same principle applies with a word. Just now I typed the word ‘destroy’ and yet reading this back to myself a minute ago, it appeared as ‘destory’!

This happens to me time and again, even writing my blog. I am not saying that we should have our blogs professionally proofread. They are conversational and so there is give and take. We have to watch the purse strings. And when we do spot the error later we can quickly amend it by editing. But if the blog is going to become a published book, then different rules apply. In short – it must be professionally proofread.

Take for instance my second anthology. That book was proofread so many times and yet, to my horror, three years after publication, I am reading a page from it and there, staring me in the face, the word ‘beach’, as in the seaside, had become ‘beech’, as in the tree. To this day, I swear it’s not me. It’s the gremlins. Ermmmm. Probably been watching a little too much Lord of the Rings, hey!

That is why I will not allow my professional work to go out without it being proof-read by Julia Gibbs. At £3.50 per 1,000 words, this is extremely good value for money. And the more Julia works on my scripts, the more she can become familiar with my writing style and understand where I am coming from, the techniques I am using, and so on.

To every author the rule is simple. When you cost your book up, don’t think you can save money by proofing it yourself, or even asking a friend to proof it. Proofreading is an art, a discipline, a skill. Julia has all three in abundance.

One of the truisms of being on a self-publishing journey is that you will always need outside help. You need another set of eyes to make sense of the wood and the trees. The writing, cover design, beta reading, editing and proofreading make the journey a team effort. I highly recommend making Julia part of your team. Her service was thorough, quick and just what my manuscript needed.

Julia was a lifesaver, she was helpful, professional and on top of that a lovely person. She made sure my book was polished and perfect, and I am so lucky and grateful to have found her. Would 300% recommend, and would definitely work with her again in the future.

Julia did just a proficient job on my manuscript. Her professionalism, pricing and skill may be unmatched in the editing and proofreading business for writers. Also, her turn around time was fast. I am so lucky I found Julia through a recommendation on Twitter. Thanks, Julia.